Second meth lab bust in less than a week

Deputies escorted two Lincolnton residents off their property in handcuffs Thursday morning after finding a meth lab at their home, the Sheriff’s Office said.

The bust is the second event of its kind in the county in the last week.

Officers located a lab Friday on Coral Drive, charging five people in the incident.

Husband and wife, Darrell Wesley Olroyd, 39, and Christina Olroyd, whose age is unknown at this time, were arrested in Thursday’s bust.

They had a burn pit inside their River Road residence along with other items used to manufacture the illegal substance, narcotics investigators said in a recent press release.

Investigators first visited the home sometime last week, after a tip came in to their Drug Tip Line, and carried out a “knock and talk” session with the duo. Deputies returned to the home Thursday after they received a second tip about the couple’s alleged drug activity.

The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office again called on officials with the State Bureau of Investigation to assist in the lab’s cleanup, which concluded around 3 p.m. SBI also assisted in the removal of toxic chemicals from the lab located earlier this month.

Both suspects have been charged with one count each of manufacturing methamphetamine, conspiracy, possession of meth precursors and maintaining a dwelling for a controlled substance but have yet to be booked in the county jail at this time.

Both meth labs this month were manufactured using the “one-pot method,” the Sheriff’s Office said.

Methamphetamine users prefer the modern method to cook their drug of choice, which can be manufactured inside a simple plastic container.

After shaking the container, the ingredients buildup extreme pressure, making the process the most dynamite way to cook meth, deputies said.